NEW YORK — Some firefighters and Sept. 11 survivors are upset about a planned memorial statue that would bend history by depicting firefighters of different races raising an American flag over Ground Zero.
Instead of depicting the three white firemen snapped in a famous photo of the scene, the 19-foot-tall bronze statue will show one white, one black and one Hispanic firefighter.
It's "an insult to those three guys to put imaginary faces on that statue," said Tony Marden, of Ladder 165 in Queens. "It's not a racial thing. That shouldn't even be an issue."
The Fire Department defended the proposed statue design, saying it accurately represents the 343 department members killed in the attacks.
"Ultimately, a decision was made to honor no one in particular but everyone who made the supreme sacrifice," said Frank Gribbon, a spokesman for the FDNY.
The imbroglio could be just the first of many disputes large and small over how best to honor the heroes of Sept. 11 and remember the dead.
Of the city's 11,495 firefighters, 2.7 percent are black and 3.2 percent Hispanic. Twelve of the firefighters who died were black; the number of Hispanic victims was not immediately available.
The statue, which will be placed in front of fire headquarters at the MetroTech Center in Brooklyn, was commissioned by developer Forest City Ratner, which owns the site.
The memorial is clearly inspired by the photo of New York City firefighters Dan McWilliams, George Johnson and Billy Eisengrein that appeared in The Record, a Bergen County, N.J., newspaper. But the FDNY insists the statue was never intended to be an exact copy.
A clay model of the statue, created by StudioEis in Brooklyn, was unveiled amid much acclaim on Dec. 21. A close look at the firefighters' facial features reveals their races.
Since the unveiling, firefighters have simmered over the design, which many call an attempt to rewrite history.
The three firefighters in the photo declined to comment. Their attorney, Bill Kelly, said the men are "disappointed because it's become something that is political as opposed to historical."
Other survivors and relatives of fallen rescuers say the statue should have represented the event as it happened.
"They're rewriting history in order to achieve political correctness," said Carlo Casoria, who lost his firefighter son, Thomas.
But the leader of a group of black firefighters said the monument should depict all firefighters, not just the ones that raised the flag atop the wreckage.
"The symbolism is far more important than representing the actual people," said Kevin James, head of the Vulcan Society.